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Re: Which is better format sonically: USB or S/DIF?

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In Reply to: Which is better format sonically: USB or S/DIF? posted by David Shapiro on March 28, 2007 at 18:50:53:

To add a slightly different perspective...
In a funny way, moving to a hard drive based transport and archive is a lifestyle choice. What do I mean... Well first of all you will free up a tremendous amount of wall and storage space when you no longer have to put your CDs where you can regularly access them physically. (Let's table the what you do with them for another thread)
The power and the magic goes beyond simple sonics. It is the ability to access a single archive in order to enjoy music wherever you want without physically shuffling discs like some localized NetFlix service. And without being limited to one kind of device (not just CD players - but iPods, remote access, etc)
Then you have the whole business of random access - every thread you will read here talks about how much more music - how many more nooks and crannies of a collection - are regularly enjoyed.
Seen in this context the choice of SPDIF vs USB vs Ethernet is tightly integrated with choices about how and where you will access and control the archive. SPDIF cables are historically very short and very expensive - meaning that your Mac will be in very close proximity to your rig. USB, especially with Opticis can run quite a distance. And Ethernet can run furthest of all and be configured in a network offering remote access from each node.
My recommendation is that you think about your choice as a music network as well as a high fidelity source. The truth is that for most of us, the answer will come down to mix and match of devices - with a primary "A" system in a designated "listening" room, as well as secondary systems where access to music simply enhances the experience. So maybe a couple of bedrooms - or a family room - or as an additional source for your home theater room... or your garage where you can stream internet radio into your old Dynaco...
BTW I wouldn't do this with anything but a Mac. And I am very happy with my Brick

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Re: Which is better format sonically: USB or S/DIF? - Steph�n 15:05:27 03/29/07 (0)
> > In a funny way, moving to a hard drive based transport and archive is a lifestyle choice.
While that's true in many respects, that alone wouldn't be nearly
enough for me. I really only got interested when I heard the
difference a PC based set-up made in the translation of bits and pits in
a familiar system. And then, I had to make sure I would be able to
make that happen in my system before I'd commit. The Cosecant/
Apple combo sold me, in a big way.
This setup allows for a clearer view into the musical proceedings, and
does so without adding any of the nasties that usually come along for
the ride. It also delivers better-defined and more extended bass.
livelier but not edgier highs, along with more varied (as in more
accurate and better balanced) tonal representations. Instrumental and
vocal shadings that make the illusion more believable are more here,
too. Textural and transient subtleties, and the grouping of fundamentals
and harmonics make for the kind of higher resolution that enables
the details to unfold ... like music, not just sound.
> > BTW I wouldn't do this with anything but a Mac.
Amen to that.

�
Normal is just a setting on my dryer.
_____________________________
That is a very well-thought out perspective - David Shapiro 08:21:37 03/29/07 (1)
Most of my listening, at this point,is in my media room. Everything that everybody has said has made a lot of sense. It's refreshing to have this kind of discourse without the vitriol and religiosity that so commonly affects this site.
I have to do a lot more research, particularly as to the archival software.
Thanks to All,
David
- The archival software - xmasparty@mac.com 02:02:14 03/30/07 (0)
  Hi David -
  The archival aoftware is the easy part. On a Mac, run iTunes. It offers the enormous advantage of integrating all the aspects of the process: ripping, tagging, organizing and sharing. Besides which, I am not sure there is another choice...
  As for back-up software (the other interpretation of archiving), something like Chronosync, or even the Mac back-up software which comes free with a membership in .Mac is all you need to create a back-up hard drive and update it periodically.
  I recommend that you buy two identical hard drives between 300-500Gb in size and use them exclusively for your iTunes Library and the back up of same. Depending on the Mac you get, you can get SATA drives (preferable) or your choice of USB or FireWire. Any of the formats is fast enough for the data transfer rates you need for playback, but the SATA will yield much faster back-ups.

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